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MACON, Ga. – The Stetson men’s soccer team gave up an early goal to Georgia Southern in the first game of the 2013 Mercer Classic, and the Hatters never recovered. The Eagles (2-2-0) went on to top the Hatters (1-2-1) by a score of 3-0 on Friday in Macon, Ga.

Eric Dinka got things started for Georgia Southern, scoring in the 11th minute to give the Eagles the early 1-0 lead. Witt Carlisle was credited with the assist after flicking a pass on past the Stetson defense to Dinka.

The Hatters fell further behind late in the first half when Emmanuel Raji found the back of the net with less than five minutes remaining. David Vargas sent a low cross into the box that Raji was able to one-time past Stetson goalkeeper Andreas Schnabl to give the Eagles a two goal advantage heading into the break.

The match became essentially out of reach for Stetson when Georgia Southern scored off of a free kick in the 74th minute. Hunter Norton connected from just outside the box to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead in the second half.

Georgia Southern was able to cruise from there, as a Stetson red card led to the Eagles’ final goal, and the Hatters were forced to play a man down for the second straight contest.

Stetson was only outshot 15-13 for the game, and actually recorded three more corner kicks than the Eagles (8-5).

Schnabl finished with six saves in the loss, while Georgia Southern goalkeeper Neal Bates finished with five stops for the Eagles.

Stetson will continue play at the Mercer Classic on Sunday, taking on Winthrop at 1:00 p.m. in Macon.